Page 3 of Guardian's Soul

Are we traveling faster than light? Is that bad for my skin?

Can I drive the spaceship for, like, five minutes? I swear I won't crash it.

Do we need seat belts? I feel like we should be wearing seat belts.

All the stupid demands and requests of my previous guests came back to me. By the comets, there was no way I was going to take another one of them on.

I held up my glass for a refill, but even the waitress seemed frozen at the sight of the human female.

"Competition?" I asked, nodding at the barely clad form making her way to the stairs.

"More of a relief for me," the Pandraxian filled my glass. "A new and exotic plaything will keep me off my back for a few days."

"Are you here against your will?" I inquired, drawing my brows together. I was a Space Guardian, sworn to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. It might not have been in my direct job description, but whenever I crossed paths with someone needing my help, I felt compelled to give it. I would help this Pandraxian female if she asked me to.

She shook her head. "Nocc—no. Why, would you be my savior?" She purred the last part.

I grunted in response, pushing thoughts of the human female out of my mind. I would not take on more humans. That wasn't going to happen. No. Not a chance.

Relieved that when I looked up, the human was gone, I motioned my comm for the waitress to pay my bill. I wasn't in the mood to get drunk any longer.

Your orders are to free as many humans as you can and bring them to Astrionis, Possedion's voice nagged in the back of my mind. Frygg. I was born and raised to serve as a Space Guardian, obeying the orders of the Ohrur as they were given to me through my minder, who in this instance was Possedion. Possedion had replaced my previous minder to make it easier to keep track of several guardians, all assigned to the samemission. Since we operated independently, the Ohrurs must have thought it wiser to have one minder oversee us. It was highly unusual for multiple Space Guardians to work on the same mission, but we were still working independently.

A mission I was failing.

Frygg.

I paid my bill, drank the last drop of the brew they served as spirits here, and brought the empty glass down hard enough on the table to smash it and have the crystal cut my hand. Frygg. Frygging humans.

My gaze moved up beyond the stairs to where the human had vanished down one of the hallways. I closed my eyes, aware that I couldn't let this go. I took a deep breath, stealing myself.All right, I compromised.This one. Just this one.I'll take her straight to Astrionis. I'll lock her into one of the cabins. I won't have to interact with her. The drones can see to her needs.

Nervous, the other patrons turned their heads in my direction as I stood. The brew in this establishment was strong but no match for my willpower, which kept me moving straight without weaving despite my head spinning slightly. The otherguestsducked away from me, avoiding eye contact as I shoved my hood back. Anyone familiar with Space Guardians recognized that I was all business now, not just enjoying the pleasures of the pleasure house. As most of the patrons recoiled from me, I felt their vibes and knew without a doubt which one was a criminal and which one wasn't. I could even tell by what degree. Usually, when I tried to relax, I could turn my sense of people off, but not when I was in mission mode, as I was now. And this place wasn't a place where normal civilians found a drink after work. I could have killed at least half of the men here, and it would have been justified.

Once I set my mind on something, though, there was no deviation, and my mind was now firmly set on rescuing thatlittle human female, who, for some reason, wouldn't stop entering my mind uninvited.

I found the owner near the entrance, deeply involved in a discussion with six customers. I took another deep inhale. I had no doubt that all these males were haggling over who would be the first up the stairs to taste the human.

A Pronex shoved two Pandraxians out of the way, causing a swift wave of anger inside me at the thought of his filthy hands on the human female. Most likely, she wouldn't survive an hour with the monster. Pronex were known for their evil temper, zero conscience, and muscular build. They also cultivated a taste for other people's pain. This Pronex was a head taller than me and built like a storage unit.

"You can't have her yet. You'll kill her, and I'll lose out on all these sales," the proprietor, a small Morrakbarr, protested, supported by the other males trying to buy time with the human female.

"I don't take seconds," the Pronex snarled, his already ugly face contorted into a mask designed to infuse terror, showing off his elongated fangs, which he had sharpened as some others of his species favored.

"I will have her cleansed for you," the Morrakbarr begged. "Please."

"Enough," I interfered, unwilling to listen to this exchange another tick.

Wisely, the six males and the proprietor moved out of my way. Not the Pronex, of course. Driven by an endless need to procreate, Pronex lost what little sense their minds contained at the whiff of a female.A fight then?

I wasn't averse to the idea.

"Space Guardian scum," the Pronex antagonized.

I took a grunting inhale. "Pronex."

"You can pick up the pieces when I'm done with her." He boasted.

I shrugged my cape off and pivoted in the same instance, not giving him any time to prepare before my fist landed in his hard stomach. The hit would have felled a lesser male, but the Pronex barely registered the pain. Another one of their advantages was that their pain levels were nothing to joke about. I had seen Pronex fight with a split open head, too dumb to realize they were dead.

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